Installing Linux On A Wal-Mart OS-less machine

Azar writes "An article at Newsforge details the experience of installing Linux on Wal-Mart's OS-less PC. It states: 'A few months ago, super-sized discount store Wal-Mart made the headlines in the Linux world by becoming the first major U.S. retailer to offer PCs without Windows preloaded...While this was widely hailed in the Open Source community as a victory over the "Microsoft tax," which usually afflicts buyers of Linux PCs, one major question remained unanswered: How well do these machines support Linux?' Here is your answer." Newsforge is owned by OSDN, which also owns Slashdot, is all part of the sinister Andover keiretsu.

Comments

Why oh why did they use a software modem?

[GnomeKing]

did walmart use a modem designed for windows on a machine that did not have windows pre-installed?

Sure, that particular modem can be supported under linux (and other operating systems?), but the clear point of these machines was that they did not have windows pre-loaded

so why use components that are designed for windows and often wont work with other operating systems?

Re:Why oh why did they use a software modem?

[levik]

Somehow, I doubt that the decision to drop windows from the bundle was motivated by the highter purpose of giving users a choice. The idea was to cut corners where possible. Since when looking at the spec sheet, the absence of an OS isn't what strikes you right away, they probably thought this was one of the corners they could cut more or less unnoticed.

Now given that it was never their intent to promote the use of alternative OS, I think their decision to use a (cheaper) winmodem, makes all the sense in the world. Its disappointing to the /.ers because we just go and assume that anyone who unbundles windows from a system is a Good Guy (tm). But really, sometimes people are just greedy.

Re:Why oh why did they use a software modem?

[banuaba]

Because most people who buy these machines are going to use pirated copies of Windows on them. I mean, it's great that you can buy machine where you get free reign on what OS you run, but when we're talking about regular people, the point remains that nobody runs linux. These people are going to borrow their sister's copy of windows XP or ME or whatever and throw that bad boy onto this box.

Re:Why oh why did they use a software modem?

[arivanov]

yep you are asbolutely correct.

I would only add that MSFT also cut a few corners on the spot. The new draft of the agreement with the DOJ has a clause that prohibits OEMs from OSless machines. It may not be MSFT but it must have OS. Which in reality means MSFT

So Walmart just got demonstrated by MSFT how do you cut corners on its own turf. And was sufficiently stupid not to fill an amicus curae. Sigh... some people that claim to be experienced businessmen never stop to amuse me...

Re:oh my gosh are y'all stupid?

[blane.bramble]

If you are so worried about the MSFT tax don't buy prebuilt computers, duh.

That's like worrying about paying a "ford" tax and going to your ford dealer.

Not at all - this is a "Microsoft Tax" - the computer is not made by Microsoft. If when you bought your Ford you had to take out insurance from a particular insurance company (whether or not you already had insurance), then that would be a better comparison, and people would complain.

You ought to be able to buy a computer without a software vendor insisting you buy their product as well.

Re:Summary for the lazy

[flipflapflopflup]

I disagree:

> As long as you have experience putting linux on a PC

the author picked "newbie" options every time, and everything worked straight away (bar the modem). So it would be fair to say "You don't need experience of putting Linux on a PC"

>as long as you don't need a modem; it's a winmodem

If you look at the comments further down, several people got the modem to work (albiet having to recomile their kernels). So it *is* possible to get the modem to work under Linux. Admittedly, maybe beyong a beginner.

Re:build your own

[PD]

I've got an Intel Celery 1100 board with everything integrated. The only thing I did was to disable the onboard video controller and add an Nvidia MX 400 card. It's hardly a crappy board. A better word for it would be inexpensive, and reliable. Probably the same applies to the Microstar board. Not everyone is interested in overclocking and tinkering with chip voltages.

Attention Wal-Mart Shoppers

[ebooher]

Look, you are viewing this backward I think. Maybe I'm the one viewing it backward. The point is this, however.

Wal-Mart does not care about the people who are usually shopping at Wal-Mart when they are selling them these computers. This, in my humble opinion, was never about the typical Wal-Mart shopper.

Someone in Wal-Mart management was only just savvy enough to recognize that there was a computer community in full force that did not want to have Windows on their computer. It goes back to the basics of supply and demand.

There is a community of people demanding that computers be available without Microsoft anything.

There is now a supplier of computers without Microsoft anything.

Now, with news sites like Slashdot running stories on it. More people are going to be saying to themselves. "I could hit walmart.com, pick up a new clone and drop linux on it." Some of them might even be saying "I could drop my existing copy of Windows on it."

Even if the machine isn't a major name brand, Wal-Mart has more people than ever looking their way now because of this. With the whole Microsoft trial, and the all the anti-Microsoft sentiment right now, this is probably just the thing for Wal-Mart to do.

Even if they can't pull in the "build it yourself" crowd. Joe Sixpack has heard from all his buddies who are in the crowd how bad the "Microsoft Tax" really is. Even if they end up installing Windows anyway, these machines still get a quick look.

The only thing I can say is that it appears to be a win/win situation for Wal-Mart.